1. The Cost of Healthy Food Baskets Northern Ireland 2016
Project Team
MESL Working Paper
Low Hour Work & Income Adequacy
Benchmark of Minimum Essential Standard of Living to test income adequacy
Two household types:
Single Adult
One Parent & One Child
Dr Bernadette MacMahon DC
Director, VPSJ
Noreen Moloney
Researcher, VPSJ

2. Minimum Essential Food Baskets - Two Studies
First Study (2015) – two household types:
Two parent, two child (pre-school and primary school age) household type
Pensioner, living alone household type
Second Study (2016) – two household types:
Two parent, two child (primary and secondary school age) household type
One parent, two child (pre-school and primary school age) household type

3. Focus of Presentation
Background to the research & methodology used to establish the Minimum Essential Food Baskets in the 2016 study.
Results of research on the Cost of Healthy Food Baskets in Northern Ireland in 2016.
Changes in the Cost of Healthy Food Baskets in Northern Ireland November 2014 – March 2016.

4. Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice (VPSJ)
The VPSJ was established in 1996 to work for social and economic change tackling poverty and exclusion.
Two main approaches used to achieve our goal:
Active citizenship/voter education programme with communities alienated from the electoral democratic process: ‘Your vote is your voice’.
Development of the Minimum Essential Budget Standard for household types in Ireland.

5. Minimum Essential Standard of Living
Standard which no one should be expected to live below
Emphasis is on needs & not wants
Cost is based on actual price of detailed basket of over 2,000 goods & services
The foundation of the budget standards data are the detailed expenditure budgets defining the cost of a Minimum Essential Standard of Living.
This is a standard which no should be expected to live below, the minimum needed to live & partake in Irish society today – meeting the physical, psychological and social needs of individuals / households.
Through working with iterative focus groups, consensus on detailed budgets of over 2,000 goods and services essential for an acceptable minimum standard of living is reached; the emphasis in establishing these budgets is on NEEDS and not wants.
The cost is based on the actual weekly price of the itemised budgets, and is broken down across the multiple areas of EXP listed – FOOD, HEALTH, ENERGY, TRANSPORT, SOCIAL INCLUSION
The data provides the expenditure need for a broad range of household types – Urban & Rural areas – multiple employment scenarios

6. Minimum Essential Standard of Living
The VPSJ uses Consensual Budget Standards methodology to ascertain the level of income needed for an acceptable standard of living.
Two parts to the research:
Expenditure required for a Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL) which meets physical, psychological and social needs.
Income needed to afford the expenditure – Minimum Income Standard (MIS).
Firstly, a brief background on the VPSJ’s Minimum Essential Standard of Living research
Research begun in 2004
Uses Consensual Budget Standards methodology, internationally known approach with a wide academic literature behind it
Two sides of the research
EXPENDITURE required to enable a MESL
Multiple research projects over the last 12 years have produced robust detailed dataset, detailing the min EXP need 90% of household in Ireland
INCOME needed to afford MESL expenditure – Minimum Income Standard

7. Establishing the Expenditure
To establish the expenditure, focus groups are held for each household type.
Negotiated consensus on goods & services to be included in the baskets (approx 2000 items).
Experts are consulted in order to ensure that the negotiated consensus meets basic criteria e.g. nutritional standards.
Focus is on needs, not wants.

8. Focus Groups Three different focus groups for each household type.
Mix of socio-economic backgrounds.
The focus groups were held in three locations across Northern Ireland:
Belfast
Derry/Londonderry
Enniskillen

9. Purpose of the Research (2016)
Using Consensual Budget Standards methodology to construct a Minimum Essential Food Basket (MEFB) for two household types:
Two parent, two child (primary and secondary school age)
One parent, two child (pre-school and primary school age)
Examine spending on food as proportion of household income.

10. Establishing the Food Baskets
The Consensual Budget Standards (CBS) methodology has 4 stages:
Stage 1 Orientation - Focus Groups
Stage 2 Task - Focus Groups
Stage 3 Costing - Research Team
Stage 4 Check Back - Focus Groups

11. Stage 1 Orientation – Focus Groups Phase 1
Negotiate consensus on purpose, terms, household type etc.
Homework – e.g. inventory of cupboards & food diary.

12. Stage 2 Task - Focus Groups Phase 1
Develop 7 day menus – reach consensus.
Identify shopping outlets – reach consensus.
The researchers convert the menus into shopping lists.

13. Stage 2 Task – Focus Groups Phase 2
Review agreed menus – reach consensus.
Review agreed shopping lists – reach consensus.
Review agreed shopping outlets – reach consensus.
Estimate the food costs.
The nutritionists assess the food baskets.

14. Stage 3 Costing – Research Team
Food items are priced in stores identified by focus group participants.
A lifespan is assigned to the food items.

15. Stage 3 Check Back – Focus Group Phase 3
Reach a negotiated consensus on changes proposed by the nutritionists.
Reach a negotiated consensus on the cost of the food budgets.
Evaluation of the process.

16. Key Findings

17. Two Parent, Two Child Household Type (Primary and Secondary School Age)
Basket Items
Cost
Food and non alcoholic beverages £
Alcohol to be consumed at home
£ 10.00
Total cost of the MEFB £

18. One Parent, Two Child Household Type (Pre-school and Primary School Age)
Basket Items
Cost
Food and non alcoholic beverages
£ 93.00
Alcohol to be consumed at home
£ 6.00
Total cost of the MEFB
£ 99.00

19. Change in the cost of the Minimum Essential Food Baskets in the 2015 study
Household Types 2015
Cost
Two Parent, Two Child (Pre-school and Primary School Age)
-£ 4.17
Pensioner, Living Alone
-£ 2.08

20. Two Parent, Two Child Household Type (Primary and Secondary School Age)
Basket Items
Cost
Food and non alcoholic beverages £
Alcohol to be consumed at home
£ 10.00
Total cost of the MEFB £

21. Two Parent, Two Child Household Type (Primary and Secondary School Age)
Food Sub-categories (16)
Cost per week
Proportion of the total food basket
Bread and cereals
£ 15.69
10%
Meat
£ 40.06
26%
Fish
£ 4.05 3%
Milk, cheese and eggs
£ 9.59 6%
Oils and fats
£ 3.05 2%
Fruit
£ 12.93 8%
Vegetables including potatoes and tubers
£ 17.05
11%
Sugar, jam and syrups
£ 0.90 1%
Food products nec
£ 3.08
Coffee, tea and cocoa
£ 3.75
Mineral waters, soft drinks and juices
£ 2.70
Alcoholic beverages
£ 10.00 7%
Take-away
£ 6.25 4%
Treats
£ 3.00
School lunch, snacks and milk
£ 19.57
13%
Extra for Christmas
£ 1.35
Total cost of the MEFB £
100%

22. Two Parent, Two Child Household Type (Primary and Secondary School Age)
Total Weekly Income
Weekly Cost of the MEFB
Food Spending as a % of Income
£350.20 £
44%
The weekly income is hypothetical and an example of typical household income in this scenario.

23. One Parent, Two Child Household Type (Pre-school and Primary School Age)
Basket Items
Cost
Food and non alcoholic beverages
£ 93.00
Alcohol to be consumed at home
£ 6.00
Total cost of the MEFB
£ 99.00

24. One Parent, Two Child Household Type (Pre-school and Primary School Age)
Categories
Cost per week
Proportion of the Basket
Bread and cereals
£ 11.21
11%
Meat
£ 23.96
24%
Fish
£ 2.37 2%
Milk, cheese and eggs
£ 9.06 9%
Oils and fats
£ 2.17
Fruit
£ 9.53
10%
Vegetables including potatoes and tubers
£ 11.71
12%
Sugar, jam and syrups
£ 1.12 1%
Food products nec
£ 3.37 3%
Coffee, tea and cocoa
£ 1.49
Mineral waters, soft drinks and juices
£ 1.37
Alcoholic beverages
£ 6.00 6%
Take-away
£ 3.75 4%
Treats
£ 3.09
School lunch, snacks and milk
£ 7.83 8%
Extra for Christmas
£ 0.96
Total cost of the MEFB
£ 99.00
100%

25. One Parent, Two Child Household Type (Pre-school and Primary School Age)
Total Weekly Income
Weekly Cost of the MEFB
Food Spending as a % of Income
£308.45
£ 99.00
32%
The weekly income is hypothetical and an example of typical household income in this scenario.

26. Change in the Cost of the MEFBs November 2014 – March 2016
Two Parent, Two Child (Pre-school and Primary School Age) Household Type
Basket Items
Nov-14
Dec-14
Jan-15
Feb-15
Mar-15
Mar-16
Food and non- alcoholic beverages £ £ £ £ £ £
Alcohol to be consumed at home
£ 8.49
£ 8.43
£ 8.70
£ 8.58
£ 8.56
£ 8.24
Total cost of the MEFB £ £ £ £ £ £

27. Change in the Cost of the MEFBs November 2014 – March 2016
Pensioner, Living Alone Household Type
Basket Items
Nov-14
Dec-14
Jan-15
Feb-15
Mar-15
Mar-16
Food and non- alcoholic beverages
£ 55.14
£ 55.31
£ 54.92
£ 54.81
£ 54.70
£ 53.18
Alcohol to be consumed at home
£ 3.99
£ 3.96
£ 4.09
£ 4.03
£ 4.02
£ 3.87
Total cost of the MEFB
£ 59.13
£ 59.27
£ 59.01
£ 58.84
£ 58.72
£ 57.05

28. Overall Change in the Cost of the MEFBs November 2014 – March 2016
Household Types 2015
Cost
Two Parent, Two Child (Pre-school and Primary School Age)
-£ 4.17
Pensioner, Living Alone
-£ 2.08

29. Reflections From Focus Group Participants
“You’d go anywhere to feed your children, if the price is right you would go.”
“You would be living on stuff that you wouldn’t necessarily want to give the kids but it’s the only way you can do it until you are stable again.”
“The first thing you do when someone comes to your house is offer them tea or coffee."
“No extra for any luxury at any time of the year.”

30. The Cost of a Healthy Food Basket
This research establishing the cost of a healthy food basket in N.Irl is based on views and opinions of members of public (and tested by nutritionists).
Based on what people should be able to afford at a minimum, but acceptable level.
Grounded in reality and the lived experience of ordinary members of the public.

31.
Further VPSJ Minimum Essential Budget Standards research is available at: